Ayurvedic Insights: Prakruti and Diet

When it comes to Ayurveda and health, there is absolutely no mention of non-vegetarian food. Ayurveda is known to be laying equal emphasis on preventing diseases and on curing them. What kind of diet can prevent diseases? We tend to believe that diseases are unforeseen and almost all of us have examples of people who were health conscious but still suffered from a disease.

I recently read a quote that said that the only person you need to be better than is you. You cannot compare your health with someone else. We need to be healthier that what we were and what we could have been if we were not aware. Ayurveda defines the physical constitution of human body into 7 types. 3 major types are Vata, Pitta and Kapha and others are a combination of any two and all 3.

How the food that we eat affects us depends on our body constitution. We all have noticed that two people having the same diet and same lifestyle (and same genes, sometimes) also turn out to be different in terms of health. Some remain skinny no matter what and how much they eat. These are usually the people with 'Vata' constitution. Other characteristics of vata type are dry skin, restless behavior, small body frame etc. Pitta people are perfectionists and get irritated easily. People with Kapha constitution are relatively calm and have a tendency to get lazy.

There are questionnaires available on the net too that help you identify your constitution (or Prakruti) but it is best to contact an Ayurvedic doctor. They are able to detect your constitution through your pulse. They recommend a diet based on your constitution and the imbalances currently present in your body.

Once you know your constitution, you will realize that you need not eat anything just because your friend or family member does. You eat what is good for you. You get diet charts consisting of foods that are good for your body type. Most people avoid and cure diseases just by a little change in lifestyle and diet.

Akanksha (uh-k-ah-nk -sh-ah) is a young lady who takes every day as the first day of the rest of her life. Her journey towards vegan-ism began 7 years ago when she came across the concept of mindful eating. She has studied Nutrition and Ayurveda and still continues to learn. She blogs here with the purpose of sharing her knowledge, learning from co-bloggers and making great friends.

Yes this works. Specially the effect of food on your mood is really visible. Grumpiness, anger, calm and peaceful all these moods can vary based on the food you eat. I myself have noticed it many times.
Thanks for posting Akanksha! :)

Thanks Sumit..
Yes..there is a saying in Hindi "Jaisa Ann, waisa man' which means that what we think and feel is dependent on the kind of food we eat. In fact, I was reading about PMS and food this morning..it could be my next post!

Good article..however, for me if I followed eating for my body type, (with the foods suggested) I was and would still be extremely sick physically and spiritually. We need not just seek all the knowledge, but glean from it all and let "OUR BODIES" actually do the talking. We must remember that every type of diet, and every diet plan is from someone's research; Therefore, I Like to research them all, but not till after I fast and pray for guidance, for me and for whomever I am guiding in nutrition, and lifestyle changes.If you really think about it.. many of those body types, like a few you mentioned.." vata type are dry skin, restless behavior, small body frame etc. Pitta people are perfectionists and get irritated easily. People with Kapha constitution are relatively calm and have a tendency to get lazy.", Cannot all these be considered more of a 'personality' type that can be corrected with positive changes proper nutrition and exercise period. voted. :-)

Of course, that is what Ayurveda works on. You can call them personality types too. Though this is a branch of science and I am not an expert to answer your comment, I would still say that Ayurveda greatly talks about balance. For example, if you tend to be lazy, it is more important for you to avoid a diet that makes your lethargic compared to the other personality types.
I totally agree with you about letting the body do the talking.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment Diana. I always appreciate your comments!

I am opening up another set of lessons in a few.. I will seek out this type in our dietary theory library.
I agree with you on this.
It's funny to see how the foods that we eat on a daily basis helps or hinders our needs for the moods we have -or the obstacles we face; for example:
If I am going to give a lecture one day I will need to be focused.; therefore I will aim grounding foods for focus as in potatoes, carrot, etc. (foods that grow from the ground.) Grounding for focus! :-)
Its so amazing to see that all our needs are met in such a simple yet specific way!

#6. Loved this. It's important to keep open to all forms of nutrition so that you can better your own health. When you were refering to "skinny" some people have higher metabolism where their system produces higher amounts of the metabolic hormones. This is mostly inherited. Some of it does come from you put into your environment as well. For instance when you are eating breakfast everyday, your not only fueled your body for the day, your brain gets more of the fat and proteins it needs to survive and give out energy, your body increases your metabolic hormones to burn more released fats (aerobic) and calories during the day and thus your thyroid produces more the metabolic hormes increasing your metabolism.

I've heard about this before. I've been interested in learning more about ayurvedic medicine as, like Chinese medicine, it has its roots in ancient knowledge that isn't influenced by western science, and therefore is much more typically based on prevention than healing, whereas traditional western medicine focuses far more on healing symptoms. However, the presentation I heard was strictly spoken with no visual aids, and I am soooo visual that only listening to someone speak on a topic that I am unfamiliar with goes in one ear and out the other. This helps a bit and I may just continue learning about it.
Voted! Have you had a chance to read my latest post? I talk about how dairy is now only just suggested in the American Food Guide.

We have a course(guided by the Art of Living organization) on Ayurveda food across the world. There you learn the basic concepts and also learn to make few dishes. If you are interested, I can help you find a course near you.